about ‘ANASEINI KATOA
My name is ‘ANASEINI KATOA
(Pronounced: ah-nuh-say-nee kuh-tow-uh)
For me storytelling has always been rooted in its power to connect people and to teach something. Storytelling in my culture was and still is a way of surviving memories, traditions, family history, and strengthening family ties. Family gatherings are where those stories live for me, it is where story is told, and my elders are some of my most favorite storytellers. Now as an adult, storytelling goes beyond stories that connected my own family, to including and exploring stories of humanity that connect the world.
I seek to create art that explores the human spirit in all of its complexities and examines the many different ways people can connect to each other through story. I want to give voice to untold stories and to use my voice to help retell old stories in a new way. This is one of the reasons why I love Shakespeare. The stories are always getting reinvented or deconstructed in new ways, and because the stories have stood the test of time, it invites me to help tell the story with all that I am and all that I bring to the table. Stories that explore the layers of flawed characters to find where we relate, stories where characters are fighting for or searching to belong, and stories of perseverance, strength, and the human capacity for love and change in all of its nuances are what I hope to work on.